#CodeRed

10/23/2023

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD!

Dear OSUNO/ONA Member,

We find ourselves in a critical moment for healthcare in Ohio, and your voice can make a significant impact. Ohio hospitals are in a state of crisis, with severe understaffing creating unsafe conditions for patients and overwhelming our dedicated healthcare professionals. Nurses and frontline healthcare workers are bearing the brunt of this crisis, leading to burnout, exhaustion, and moral injury due to unsustainable workloads and unsafe staffing levels.

This crisis has led to an acute exodus from nursing jobs in our state with 70% of nurses considering leaving the workforce, according to a recent report by the Council on Practice of the Ohio Nurses Association.
 
But it doesn't have to be this way!
 
Today, at 10 a.m., Representatives Ghanbari and Rogers, the co-sponsors of H.B. 285,  the Nurse Workforce and Safe Patient Care Act, and the ONA will hold a press conference outside Mercy Health in Perrysburg, Ohio, to shed light on the urgent need for safe staffing standards in our communities.
 
H.B. 285 is a crucial piece of legislation that will establish legally enforceable minimum staffing standards for nurses in Ohio hospitals. Additionally, it will create a $20 million loan-to-grant program to support those interested in pursuing a career in nursing, further strengthening our healthcare workforce.
 
We're calling on you to help us make this week a week of action, a week of change. Let's ensure our voices are heard loud and clear across the state!
 
Here are the steps you can take to support this vital cause:
 
Submit ADO Forms: Continue to submit your Assignment Despite Objection (ADO) forms to provide real data that educates state legislatures on the gravity of inadequate staffing and its detrimental impact on patient care.

Contact Your State Representative: You can do this by clicking here to send a letter to your state representative, urging them to support H.B. 285 and emphasizing the importance of minimum staffing standards for the well-being of patients and healthcare workers.

Show Your Support: If you have CODE RED buttons and t-shirts, wear them proudly. If you don't, reach out to your local leader or you can also print CODE RED signs here. 


Raise Your Voice on Social Media: Share pictures of yourself and your co-workers sounding the alarm with your CODE RED gear and signs on social media. Use the hashtag #CodeRed and tag your state legislators to ensure they hear our collective voice.

#CODERED

It's time for all Ohioans to hear from all of us. It’s time to sound the alarm on understaffing in our hospitals. Join us to be part of the grassroots movement to support H.B. 285, and together, let's make a difference for the nurses and patients who deserve the very best.

Together, we can be the driving force that brings about much-needed change in Ohio's healthcare system.

Ohio Nurses Association is sounding the Alarm on Code Red!

Thank you to City Attorney Zach Klein and his staff for the informative and supportive presentation on addressing workplace violence. The information packet from the City Attorney's office that was discussed on the webinar can be found here.

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As part of our relentless advocacy for a safe and healthy workplace, OSUNO has partnered with City Attorney Zach Klein and his staff to present the process in pursuing justice if you are a victim of workplace violence. The webinar is tomorrow, August 29th from 2:30-3:30 pm. This is a virtual event that is free to any OSUWMC frontline healthcare worker who is interested in attending. There is no registration requirement. The webinar can be accessed by the following:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83960598665

OR

Dial (646)876-9923, Meeting ID: 839 6059 8665

We originally planned to have two interactive in-person meetings in the Hospital to make it convenient for you to come down on a break and ask any questions that you may have. However, instead of providing space close to clinical areas, Kristie Henneman entirely revoked our access because we refused to decline access to non-RNs or managers to the event. Considering the fact that all of our co-workers are experiencing the same levels of violence on the floors, we consider this an appalling flex and abuse of power. You can read our response letter to Kristie here and the corresponding grievance here. 

We hope that you are all able to join the webinar tomorrow. 

We all know UNDERSTAFFING = PATIENT CARE CRISIS.  If you’re interested in telling your story to help sound the alarm, please reach out to me, and we’ll set up time to meet.  
In Unity,

Rick Lucas BSN RN OCN VA-BC CCRN
President, OSUNO

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We are asking everyone to email Kris Kipp every time you're out of ratio or have a bad shift to let him know we are fed up with his bad leadership.  Here is his email address and an email draft you can copy and paste into your email:

kris.kipp@osumc.com

Please also cc OSUNO Secretary Catharyne Henderson:

catharyneh@yahoo.com

Mr. Kipp–

As Buckeye Nurses, we make it our mission to provide safe and unparalleled patient care. Today, I have worked another shift where you violated the agreed upon safe minimum staffing standards, jeopardizing the entire teams ability to provide safe care to our patients. For far too long, administrators like you have chosen to prioritize fiscal goals over safe, sustainable patient care. It is this callous attitude towards patient and staff safety that has caused an exodus of nurses, contributing to a loss of specialty nursing and institutional knowledge that will take decades to recover. As Chair of the Nurse Executive Council, we can’t let you drag all of nursing down like you did in the James, we need a leader who will elevate our profession and help the James recover from your reign.

Every shift you fail to provide safe staffing on our unit and violate our contract, I leave burned out and exhausted from the moral injury of being forced to provide inadequate care. This is further exacerbated when the charge nurse has a patient care assignment on top of their charge duties and is unable to help manage the extra work assigned or we don’t have adequate ancillary staff to support the delivery of safe care. Patient care further suffers when the charge nurse is unable to help mentor new nurses, assist with emergencies, or monitor all of the travel nurses that receive only 3 days of orientation.

This staffing crisis has been prolonged and worsened by the decisions you make— decisions that are often shortsighted putting profits ahead of our vital mission to provide safe patient care. We can’t afford to lose anymore experienced staff.  We can’t afford to let these bad decisions go unchallenged.

I deserve better, my coworkers deserve better, and most important my patients deserve better. I hope you reflect on these words and make providing safe care to our patients a priority in your remaining time at the OSUWMC. 

Sincerely,

(your name)

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Today (5/26), OSUNO nurses at the The James took a stand stating that they have no trust in Kris Kipp’s leadership with a vote of no confidence letter signed by 1,200 healthcare workers.
You can watch the video statement here: